Method and apparatus for a wireless telecommunication system that provides location-based messages

ABSTRACT

A wireless telecommunication system receives information from a wireless mobile unit and determines that the wireless mobile unit is within a designated region. Information specific to the designated region is received at a centrally located location-based message server. As the traveler enters the designated region, the wireless mobile unit then receives information specific to the designated region such as information relating to traffic problems or desired locations within the region. Alternatively, a problem is identified and designated as relating to a particular region, and wireless mobile units within the designated region are then identified so that information relating to the problem can be output thereto. As such, information specific to a region occupied to a traveler is received.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to telecommunications in general, and,more particularly, to a wireless telecommunications system.

2. Description of Related Art

FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of a portion of a known wirelesstelecommunications system, providing wireless telecommunications serviceto a number of wireless mobile units (e.g., wireless mobile units 101-1through 101-3) that are situated within a geographic region. The heartof a typical wireless telecommunications system is a wireless switchingcenter (“WSC”) 120. Typically, the WSC 120 is connected to a pluralityof base stations (e.g., base stations 103-1 through 103-5) that aredispersed throughout the geographic region serviced by the system and tothe local and long-distance telephone and data networks (e.g.,local-office 130, local-office 138 and toll-office 140). WSC 120 isresponsible for, among other things, establishing and maintaining a callbetween a first wireless mobile unit and a second wireless mobile unitor, alternatively, between a wireless mobile unit and a wireline mobileunit (e.g., wireless mobile unit 150), which is connected to the systemvia the local and/or long-distance networks.

The geographic region serviced by a wireless telecommunications systemis partitioned into a number of spatially distinct areas called “cells.”As depicted in FIG. 1, each cell is schematically represented by ahexagon. In practice, however, each cell has an irregular shape thatdepends on the topography of the terrain surrounding the cell.Typically, each cell contains a base station, which comprises the radiosand antennas that the base station uses to communicate with wirelessmobile units in that cell and also comprises the transmission equipmentthat the base station uses to communicate with the WSC 120. However,locating wireless mobile units within a cell was often difficult.

Prior art FIG. 2 illustrates a base station 203 and the typical coveragearea of a three sector antenna typically utilized on a base station 203.Since the base station antenna typically has three sectors (which aretypically 3 separate antennas), each of the three sectors covers about a1200 area of the cell 205. These three sectors, labeled 207 a, 207 b,and 207 c each correspond to one of the three sector antennas of basestation 203.

When a wireless mobile unit 210, shown being utilized in a car in FIG. 2for example, it is turned on, the nearest cell site or base station suchas base station 203 becomes aware of its location in terms of antennaface or sector direction. Thus, the base station 203 is not only awareof wireless mobile unit 210, but it is also aware that the wirelessmobile unit 210 is within a particular sector of its coverage region,such as sector 207 a. Hence, the base station 203 knows the approximategeographic location of wireless mobile unit 210. This method of locatinga wireless mobile unit 210 requires only one cell site or base station203, although the area covered by the sector could be quite large.

Prior art FIG. 3 depicts a known triangulation technique for locatingthe wireless mobile unit 310. Using this triangulation technique, threebase stations 303 a, 303 b, and 303 c are used to pinpoint the locationof wireless mobile unit 310. A propagation delay between the wirelessmobile unit 310 sending a message to each of the three base stations 303a, 303 b, and 303 c is used to determine the distance to the wirelessmobile unit 310, such as distance X, distance Y and distance Z as shownin prior art FIG. 3. Triangulation requires the cell sites to besynchronized to a reference clock so when the wireless mobile unit 310contacts each of base stations 303 a, 303 b, and 303 c, a time stamp ofwhen the message was received is created. Then, the time stamps arecompared and used to determine the exact location using radio wavepropagation characteristics and some rudimentary mathematics. Thismethod requires three cell sites for accurate positioning.

Further, global positioning systems (GPS) have recently been developedto the point where they are cheap to implement. Thus, such systems maysoon be prevalent in wireless mobile units to determine the preciselocation thereof. In addition, in an area of wireless technology,assisted GPS is being developed to improve on normal GPS for position orlocation detection of wireless mobile units. In addition, other positiondetermining systems are constantly being developed. Thus, with all thesevarious ways being developed to locate a wireless mobile unit and topinpoint the location of the wireless mobile unit, a need exists tocreate other uses for the location or position information of wirelessmobile units.

Further, as wireless units, such as those in cars for example, travelfrom region to region a user might find information specific to theparticular region to be quite useful. For example, weather warnings,traffic problems or other road problems, if received by the user, wouldallow the user to take appropriate action. Knowing about trafficaccidents on major highways or roads closed for construction wouldenable the user to find an alternate route to avoid the problem. Thus, aneed exists for getting region-specific information to a user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a wireless telecommunication systemor method that uses location or position information of a wirelessmobile unit to enable the sending of messages to travelers. As it isdetermined that the wireless mobile unit has entered a designated regionfor example, information specific to the designated region is output forthe wireless mobile unit (information which is eventually output to thewireless unit via a base station, for example). In another embodiment,information relating to a problem in a designated region is received;wireless mobile units located within the designated region areidentified; and information related to the problem is output to thewireless mobile units located in the designated region. As such,information specific to that of a designated region is output to userswithin the region so that they can make use of the information in atimely manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawingswhich are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitativeof the present invention, wherein like reference numerals represent likeelements and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a known wireless telecommunicationsystem;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of area sectors covered by base stations in awireless network;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the use of triangulation to locate a wirelessmobile unit;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a wireless telecommunication systemincluding the location-based message server of an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the salient component of the location-basedmessage server of FIG. 4 and connections to external devices;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operation of a firstembodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the method of operation of a secondembodiment of the present application; and

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the presentapplication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various aspects of the present invention enable the use of bothtelecommunications capability and regional location-finding capabilityof a wireless telecommunication system to disseminate region relatedinformation to wireless mobile units within the region. In one preferredembodiment, it is determined that the wireless mobile unit has entered adesignated region and information, such as traffic information orinformation relating to problems within the region, for example, isoutput for the wireless mobile unit upon determining that the wirelessmobile unit has entered the designated region. This information iseventually output to the wireless mobile unit via a base station, forexample. In another embodiment, information relating to a problem withina region of a wireless communication network is received; wirelessmobile units located within the designated region are identified; andinformation related to the problem within the region is output to thewireless mobile units located within the region. As such, information ofspecific use to a user, such as information about the region wherein theuser is located, is easily disseminated to the user. Therefore, advancesin location-based technology which more and more accurately identify thelocation or position of a user are utilized in a timely manner to allowusers to prepare for and potentially avoid problems within a region inwhich they are located or are approaching; or provide users with moreinformation about the region itself.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a wireless telecommunication systemincluding a location-based message server 450 of a preferred embodimentof the present invention. The system includes a wireless switchingcenter (WSC) 420 connecting the location-based message server 450 withbase stations 403-1 through 403-4, wherein it is understood that thenumber of base stations is exemplary only. Such a system is capable of:(1) providing wireless telecommunication service to the wireless mobileunit 410 (designated as a wireless mobile unit within a car forillustrative purposes only in FIG. 4), including location-based servicesbased on location of the wireless mobile unit 410; (2) monitoring themovement (changing location from region to region or cell to cell forexample) of wireless mobile unit 410 as it remotely travels; and (3)providing location-based or region-based information back to thewireless mobile unit 410 through WSC 420 and through base stations 403-1through 403-4, based on the observed changing location or entrance ofthe wireless mobile unit 410 into different cells or regions. Thelocation-based message server 450 is responsible for providing alllocation-based message services for the wireless mobile unit 410.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the salient components of location-basedmessage server 450. The location-based message server 450 includes acontroller 520. The controller 520 is connected to each of a messageserver data base 540; and an input device 530. It should be understoodthat controller 520 of location-based message server 420 sends andreceives signals and other information to and from the wireless mobileunit 410, through WSC 420 and base-stations 403-1 through 403-4 shown inFIG. 4 (although not repeated in FIG. 5 for clarity). The input device530 can be any input device such as a keyboard, mouse, etc. forinputting information to controller 520, and for storage in messageserver data base 540. The controller 520 is, for example, computerprogrammed to orchestrate location-based message services, for aplurality of geographic regions such as those serviced by wirelessswitching center 420, wherein the services include sending informationback to the wireless mobile unit 410 through WSC 420 and the basestations, such as information relating to traffic problems, alternateroutes, stores or fuel sources (such as gasoline stations for example),etc. The controller 520 controls the operation of other elements in thelocation-based message server 450.

The message server data base 540 is a data base or memory that contains,among other things, digitized maps of geographic areas or regions suchas those within a particular cell serviced by a base station forexample, preferably including digitized maps of a plurality ofgeographic areas or cells, such as those served by wireless switchingcenter 420. These maps are used by controller 520 for comparisonpurposes with a current location of wireless mobile unit 410 todetermine whether or not the wireless mobile unit 410 is within aspecific geographic region, or is within a region neighboring aparticular geographic region. The maps and such within message serverdata base 540 are further used for comparison to information received bycontroller 520 from an external source 550, such as the Internet 560 orother external services 570, for determination by the controller 520, ofproblems within the designated region; and/or for determination ofalternate routes within the geographic region based upon informationbeing received from external source 550 indicating a problem within aparticular geographic region. The geographic data and related data maybe embodied in a Geographic Information System (GIS), for example.Further, although controller 520 of location-based message server 450 isshown directly connected to external sources 550 in FIG. 5, such aconnection could be indirect through WSC 420 or even wireless throughbase stations 403-1 to 403-4, for example.

Message server data base 540 further preferably contains not only theGIS data base, but also GIS processing software that enables geographicfunctions, chiefly determining relationships between various geographicregions in the position or location of wireless mobile unit 410 enablingthe functionality described herein as will be explained in more detailhereafter. Some personal preferences may also be established in messageserver data base 540 which may create an understanding for theprocessing of information such as particular roads or regions frequentlyused by a user of wireless mobile unit 410; specific information desiredto be received such as traffic information for example; informationidentifying the wireless mobile unit 410 as a subscriber to a servicedesiring dissemination of the information disseminated by the presentinvention; etc.

The external information sources 550, including the Internet 520 andother sources 570, will generally be established separately from messageserver data base 540, but in a manner consistent therewith. Informationcan be requested in a specific manner or in an ongoing basis fromcontroller 520 accessing any external information source 550 through WSC420, for example.

Message server data base 540 further preferably contains a list ofservices to be performed in association with a designated wirelessmobile unit 510 and the geographic area (places/roads/stores/fuelsources such as gas stations etc.) that will be considered to meet acriteria for initiating the services to be performed. These can becustomized by the user. For example, the service which might be desiredby a user might be that of receiving an indication of problematicinformation within a geographic region such as a road closure, severetraffic problems, a downed tree in an area, etc. for any one of aplurality of geographic regions. Thus, when information is received bycontroller 520 relating to such a problem, controller 520 will locateand output information to all wireless mobile units 410 located withinthe geographic region subscribing to such a service.

Additionally, if the wireless mobile unit 410 desires to receive trafficinformation specific to a designated region, it can subscribe to thisservice such that when the wireless mobile unit 410 has entered thedesignated region, information relating to the region such as trafficinformation will be output to the wireless mobile unit 410. This can beoutput based upon a wireless mobile unit 410 merely transponding a pilotsignal back to a base station in a known manner, to thereby enable thebase station and thus controller 520 to locate that a wireless mobileunit 410 has entered a particular geographic region; or it can be basedupon a signal received from a wireless mobile unit 410, indicating thatthe wireless mobile unit 410 desires this type of information, whereinthe controller 520 will thereafter determine that a wireless mobile unit410 has entered a particular geographic region and will outputinformation relating to the particular geographic region to the wirelessmobile unit 410.

Controller 520 can also include a location determining server (notshown) for determining a location of a wireless mobile unit 410 whenrequested to do so by controller 520 to provide controller 520 with thatinformation when it is obtained. The location determining server can bepart of controller 520 or can be a separate component in location-basedmessage server 450 for determining location.

It should be noted that the location of wireless mobile unit 410 can bedetermined in a number of known ways including using informationreceived from a wireless mobile unit 410 itself (through a base stationand WSC 420, eventually reaching location-based message server 450)based upon a global positioning system (GPS) or assisted GPS used inconjunction with the wireless mobile unit 410 and signals 506 senttherefrom; or based upon and other known techniques such as cell orsector location or triangulation techniques achieved at a base station,wherein the base stations then transmit the location of wireless mobileunit 410 to location-based message server 450 via wireless switchingcenter 420. How the location information is obtained is not limitativeof the present invention. Controller 520, in conjunction with messageserver data base 540 and with other location-based determiningtechniques or a location determining server, determines theidentification of wireless mobile units within or entering a particularregion (or neighboring a particular region) and monitors the units andinformation received from external source 550.

As previously stated, the location or position of wireless mobile unit410 may be obtained in a plurality of ways. The wireless mobile unit 410may contain the functionality needed to locate itself, and may sendresults to a signal 506 to the location-based message server 450; suchas through GPS or modified GPS circuitry within the wireless mobile unit410 itself. Alternatively, the location or position can be determined ina known manner through triangulation, base station sector information,etc. at the location-based message server 450 or WSC 420. Those familiarwith wireless location technology/functioning will recognize that forthe services disclosed therein, it does not matter whether geographiclocation or position results are calculated in the network or in thewireless mobile unit 410 itself.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the operation of one preferred embodiment ofthe present application.

Initially, in Step S2, information is received from a wireless mobileunit 410, through a controlling base station and WSC 420, atlocation-based message server 450. This information can be merely thatof a wireless mobile unit 410 transponding a received pilot signal to abase station thereby indicating that a wireless mobile unit 410 iswithin a region or sector of a base station; can include a specificsignal for determining a location of a wireless mobile unit 410 such asa GPS or assisted GPS signal; or can include a specific request forinformation from a wireless mobile unit 410.

Thereafter, in Step S4, based upon this received information, it isdetermined that a wireless mobile unit 410 has entered a region. Forexample, if the wireless mobile unit 410 transponds a signal back to aparticular base station, the location-based message server 450 thenknows the particular region or sector that the wireless mobile unit 410has entered. Thus, this becomes the designated region for thatparticular wireless mobile unit 410.

Finally, in Step S6, information is output from location-based messageserver 450 for the wireless mobile unit 410 relating to the designatedregion, or alternatively (or additionally) relating to a regionneighboring the designated region. This information is then output tothe wireless mobile unit 410 via the WSC 420 and controlling basestation. Depending on a particular service that a user has signed up foror depending on the type of information provided by location-basedmessage server 450, information such as traffic information for thedesignated region; particular problems associated with the designatedregion; and/or location of various places within the designated regionsuch as fuel sources or gasoline stations within the region are outputfor, and eventually to the wireless mobile unit 410. This informationcan then be output at the wireless mobile unit 410 in any number ofways, including but not limited to audibly and visually. A visualdisplay could be on the wireless mobile unit 410 itself, or to a displayunit connected thereto, for example.

As previously stated, the information output for the wireless mobileunit 410 can be that of traffic information. For example, controller 520can constantly receive traffic information from an external informationsource 550, such as the Internet 560. Based upon mapping informationstored in message server data base 540, the controller 520 can thenessentially parce the information received into various sectors ofregions (as defined by the parameters of the system), or can receiveonly information related to a plurality of geographic regions or asingle geographic region. As such, information specific to thegeographic region, such as traffic information, information relating todowned trees, other problems within the designated region, etc. can beoutput to the wireless mobile unit 410.

In a further preferred embodiment, problems relating to a particularroad closure can be received from controller 520 and can be output tothe wireless mobile unit 410. In addition, since mapping information isstored in message server data base 540, controller 520 can report notonly problem situations, but also alternate routes of travel to awireless mobile unit 410 entering a particular geographic region.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the wireless mobile unit 410 istraveling on a first road 610. Upon receiving information from awireless mobile unit 410 enabling a determination that a wireless mobileunit 410 has entered the designated region shown in FIG. 8 (through acontrolling base station and WSC 420); and upon receiving informationfrom an external information source 550 such as the Internet 560indicating that a tree has fallen in the area 650 indicated by the X asshown in FIG. 8; the information output for the wireless mobile unit 410can indicate that the tree has fallen and can further indicate that theuser avoid the main route 630 as shown in FIG. 8 and take an alternateroute 640 as shown in FIG. 8. Using GPS or assisted GPS information,speed and direction of travel of the wireless mobile unit 410, and timeof travel can be determined to be used in alternate route selection.These map matching techniques are known to those of ordinary skill inthe art and can function, for example, when message server data base 540is a GIS which further includes GIS processing software that enablesgeographic functions. They can be used to determine and define a newroute using route matching/route determining techniques. Further,previous positions can be used to determined the exact road that aperson is on. Thus, the wireless mobile unit 410 receives informationrelating to the designated region that he has entered, with thatinformation including an alternate route of travel. This information canbe audibly output, displayed, etc. Thus, such region specificinformation can be quite useful to a user.

As previously stated, the information received from a wireless mobileunit 410 in Step S2 of FIG. 6 can include information for determining alocation of the wireless mobile unit 410 such as a GPS signal orassisted GPS signal. In addition, the information received from thewireless mobile unit 410 can include a particular signal requestingspecific information. For example, a user could subscribe to a pluralityof services wherein one service provides the user with trafficinformation for a designated region; another service provides the userwith suggested alternate routes of travel; another service provides theuser with the locations of stores within the designated region, such asrestaurants for example; and another service provides the user withinformation relating to fuel sources within the designated region, suchas gas stations for example. Each of the services is then attached, forexample, to a different key on a keypad such as when the user presses anumber key, a signal is sent, through a controlling base station and WSC420 to location-based message server 450. For example, when a userpresses a number 1 key, a first signal is sent from the wireless mobileunit 410 in Step S2 triggering a request for the receipt of trafficinformation; a second key 2 triggers a request for alternate routesuggestions; a third key 3 triggers a request for restaurant locationswithin the region; and a fourth key 4 triggers a request for gas stationlocations within a designated region. The term designated region refersto a region that is designated based upon determining that the wirelessmobile unit 410 has entered a particular region. Information such as gasstation location, restaurant location, etc. can be stored in messageserver data base 540.

This aspect or embodiment of the present application can be varied inmany ways as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Forexample, especially relating to problem and traffic information, thisinformation can be output to wireless mobile units located in regionsneighboring a designated region, for example. In other words, upon awireless mobile unit 410 entering a particular region, it can receiveinformation relating to regions or cells neighboring the designatedregion separate from or along with information for the designatedregion, to thereby allow a user to plan alternate routes of travel toavoid problems. Depending upon the severity of the problem, theinformation could even be sent to second, third or other nth orderneighboring regions to allow for the user to change his route, such aswhen a major highway has been closed, a tunnel or bridge has beenclosed, etc.

Other types of information that could be provided to the wireless mobileunit 410 relating to the designated region or neighboring region caninclude weather information specific to the region, locations of publictelephones within the region, retail shops or malls within the regions,etc. For example, relating to retail shops or malls for example,customer or user profiles for users of wireless mobile units can bestored in message server database 540. The profiles may include, forexample, specific items a user likes to shop for, such as antiques, forexample. Then, as a wireless mobile unit 410 of a user enters a regionor cell containing stores matching the profile, such as antique storesfor example, information is output to the wireless mobile unit 410indicating such stores within the region; and optionally indicatinglocations of such stores within the region. It should be understood thatthis aspect can be used to target any designatable thing or category ofthings within a region including, but not limited to restaurants, healthclubs, bars, banks, etc. In addition, the aforementioned aspects ofroute determination and map matching can also be applied to illustratetravel routes to targeted places.

In another aspect, information relating to geographic aspects of aregion can be stored, requested and output. For example, a traveler witha wireless mobile unit 410 can send information to controller 520indicating a particular road or exit off a major highway, for example.This could be particularly useful to truckers traveling many miles downa major interstate, for example. The controller 520 then receives thisinformation and compares it to map information prestored in messageserver database 540. Upon the wireless mobile unit 410 entering a regionor cell containing the desired road or exit, the controller 520 outputsthis information to the wireless mobile unit 410 of the trucker.Thereby, the trucker is made aware of the desired exit upon entering acell or designated region. Optionally, location of the exit could beoutput.

A second embodiment or aspect of the present application is shown inFIG. 7. In this aspect, controller 520 receives information relating toa problem in Step S12 from an external information source 550. Theproblem can be road closure for example. The controller 520 thendetermines the particular region in which the problem is located,through the use of the information message server data base 540 forexample. Thereafter, a wireless mobile unit 410, or a plurality ofwireless mobile units subscribing to location-based message server 450,which are located within the designated region (and/or a neighboringregion) are identified in Step S14. Thereafter, information relating tothe problem is output for, and eventually to the wireless mobile unit410 or a plurality of wireless mobile units within the designated regionin Step S16. As such, once a problem is identified within a particulargeographic region, wireless mobile units located within the designatedregion can be identified and information relating to the problem can beoutput thereto.

Similar to the first embodiment of the present application, the outputinformation can relate to traffic problems, can include alternate routesof travel, etc. The problems can relate to a road closure or other typesof traffic problems. In addition, the location of the wireless mobileunits which receive the output information can be those located within adesignated region and/or those within regions neighboring the designatedregion as first order neighbors, second order neighbors, and third orderneighbors, etc., depending upon the severity of the problem.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. For example, designated regions can be anyparticular defined area, such as cells or cell sectors for example. Suchvariations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit andscope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obviousto one of ordinary skill in the art are intended to be included withinthe scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A location-based messaging method in a wirelesscommunication network, comprising: receiving information sent from awireless mobile unit; determining that the wireless mobile unit hasentered a designated region based upon the received information;outputting information relating to the designated region for thewireless mobile unit upon determining that the wireless mobile unit hasentered the designated region; and storing map information for thedesignated region, wherein the output information includes mapinformation.
 2. The location-based messaging method of claim 1, whereinthe output information further includes traffic information.
 3. Thelocation-based messaging method of claim 1, wherein the outputinformation further includes information relating to a problem withinthe designated region.
 4. The location-based messaging method of claim3, wherein the problem relates to a road closure within the designatedregion.
 5. The location-based method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving information relating to the designated region from an externalsource, wherein information relating to the received information isoutput to the wireless mobile unit.
 6. The location-based messagingmethod of claim 5, wherein the information received is trafficinformation for the designated region.
 7. The location-based messagingmethod of claim 5, wherein the information received is informationindicative of a problem within the designated region.
 8. Alocation-based messaging method in a wireless communication network,comprising: receiving information sent from a wireless mobile unit;determining that the wireless mobile unit has entered a designatedregion based upon the received information; outputting informationrelating to the designated region for the wireless mobile unit upondetermining that the wireless mobile unit has entered the designatedregion; receiving information relating to the designated region from anexternal source, wherein information relating to the receivedinformation is output to the wireless mobile unit; and storing mapinformation for the designated region, wherein when the receivedinformation is indicative of a traffic problem within the designatedregion, an alternate route of travel is output to the wireless mobileunit.
 9. The location-based messaging method of claim 8, wherein thedesignated region is a cell.
 10. The location-based messaging method ofclaim 8, wherein the designated region is a sector of a cell.
 11. Thelocation-based messaging method of claim 8, further comprising: inresponse to receiving information sent from the wireless terminal,determining a location of the wireless mobile unit.
 12. Thelocation-based messaging method of claim 8, wherein the informationreceived from the wireless mobile unit includes a signal requestingspecific information.
 13. The location-based messaging method of claim12, wherein the signal requests traffic information.
 14. Thelocation-based messaging method of claim 12, wherein the signal requestsinformation relating to a particular road within the designated region.15. The location-based messaging method of claim 12, wherein the signalrequests information relating to a particular exit within the designatedregion.
 16. The location-based messaging method of claim 12, wherein thesignal requests information relating to stores within the designatedregion and wherein the output information includes locations of storeswithin the designated region.
 17. The location-based messaging method ofclaim 16, wherein the stores are restaurants.
 18. The location-basedmessaging method of claim 12, wherein the signal request informationrelating to fuel sources.
 19. The location-based messaging method ofclaim 8, wherein the output information includes locations of fuelsources within the designated regions.
 20. The location-based messagingmethod of claim 19, wherein the fuel sources are gas stations.
 21. Thelocation-based messaging method of claim 18, wherein the fuel sourcesare gas stations.
 22. The location-based messaging method of claim 8,wherein the output information includes information relating to regionsneighboring the designated region.
 23. The location-based messagingmethod of claim 8, further comprising, prestoring information relatingto a user of the wireless mobile unit, wherein the information is outputupon the wireless mobile unit entering a region designated based uponthe prestored information.
 24. The location-based messaging method ofclaim 23, wherein the prestored information includes shoppinginformation and the output information includes information relating tostores within the designated region.
 25. The location-based messagingmethod of claim 23, wherein the prestored information includes a userprofile and the output information includes information of a regionincluding stores matching the user profile.
 26. A location-basedmessaging method in a wireless communication network, comprising:receiving information relating to a problem in a designated region ofthe wireless communication network; identifying a wireless mobile unitlocated within the designated region; outputting information, related tothe problem within the designated region, for the wireless mobile unitlocated in the designated region; and storing map information for thedesignated region, wherein the output information includes mapinformation and wherein the output information is output to the wirelessmobile unit.
 27. The location-based messaging method of claim 26,wherein the received information relates to a traffic problem.
 28. Thelocation-based messaging method of claim 26, wherein a plurality ofwireless mobile units within the designated region are identified andinformation is output to each of the designated region are identifiedand information is output to each of the identified wireless mobileunits.
 29. The location-based messaging method of claim 26, wherein theoutput information is traffic information.
 30. The location-basedmessaging method of claim 26, wherein the problem relates to a roadclosure within the designated region.
 31. The location-based messagingmethod of claim 26, wherein the designated region is a cell.
 32. Thelocation-based messaging method of claim 26, wherein the designatedregion is a sector of a cell.
 33. The location-based messaging method ofclaim 26, wherein wireless mobile units located within the designatedregion or within a region neighboring the designated region areidentified, and information is output to all identified wireless mobileunits.
 34. The location-based messaging method of claim 33, wherein thedesignated region is a cell.
 35. The location-based messaging method ofclaim 33, wherein the designated region is a sector of a cell.
 36. Alocation-based messaging method in a wireless communication network,comprising: receiving information relating to a problem in a designatedregion of the wireless communication network; identifying a wirelessmobile unit located within the designated region; outputtinginformation, related to the problem within the designated region, forthe wireless mobile unit located in the designated region; and storingmap information for the designated region, wherein when the receivedinformation is indicative of a traffic problem within the designatedregion, an alternate route of travel is output to the wireless mobileunit and wherein the output information is output to the wireless mobileunit.
 37. A location-based messaging apparatus, comprising: a controlleradapted to receive information from a wireless mobile unit; adapted todetermine that the wireless mobile unit has entered a designated regionbased upon the received information; and adapted to output informationrelating to the designated region for the wireless mobile unit, upondetermining that the wireless mobile unit has entered the designatedregion; and a memory, adapted to store map information for thedesignated region, wherein the output information includes mapinformation.
 38. The location-based messaging apparatus of claim 37,wherein the output information relates to a problem within thedesignated region.
 39. The location-based messaging apparatus of claim38, wherein the problem relates to a road closure within the designatedregion.
 40. The location-based messaging apparatus of claim 37, whereinthe controller is further adapted to receive information relating to thedesignated region from an external source, and wherein informationrelating to the received information is output to the wireless mobileunit.
 41. The location-based messaging apparatus of claim 40, whereinthe output information relates to a problem within the designatedregion.
 42. The location-based messaging apparatus of claim 40, whereinthe information received is information indicative of a problem withinthe designated region.
 43. A location-based apparatus, comprising: acontroller adapted to receive information from a wireless mobile unit;adapted to determine that the wireless mobile unit has entered adesignated region based upon the received information; and adapted tooutput information relating to the designated region for the wirelessmobile unit, upon determining that the wireless mobile unit has enteredthe designated region; and a memory, adapted to store map informationfor the designated region, wherein when the received information isindicative of a traffic problem within the designated region, thecontroller is adapted to determine an alternate route of travel foroutput to the wireless mobile unit, wherein the controller is adapted toreceive information relating to the designated region from an externalsource, and wherein information relating to the received information isoutput to the wireless mobile unit.
 44. The location-based messagingapparatus of claim 43, wherein the controller is adapted to determine alocation of the wireless mobile unit in response to receiving thewireless mobile unit information, and is adapted to use the determinedlocation in determining that the wireless mobile unit has entered thedesignated region.
 45. The location-based messaging apparatus of claim43, wherein the received information relates to a traffic problem. 46.The location-based messaging apparatus of claim 43, wherein thecontroller is further adapted to identify a plurality of wireless mobileunits within the designated region and is adapted to output informationto each of the identified wireless mobile units.
 47. The location-basedmessaging apparatus of claim 43, wherein the problem relates to a roadclosure within the designated region.
 48. A location-based messagingapparatus, comprising: a controller, adapted to receive informationrelating to a problem in a designated region of the wirelesscommunication network; adapted to identify a wireless mobile unitlocated within the designated region; and, adapted to outputinformation, related to the problem within the designated region, forthe wireless mobile unit; and a memory, adapted to store map informationfor the designated region, wherein the output information includes mapinformation.
 49. A location-based apparatus in a wireless communicationnetwork, comprising: a controller, adapted to receive informationrelating to a problem in a designated region of the wirelesscommunication network; adapted to identify a wireless mobile unitlocated within the designated region; and, adapted to outputinformation, related to the problem within the designated region, forthe wireless mobile unit; and a memory, adapted to store map informationfor the designated region, wherein when the received information isindicative of a traffic problem within the designated region, thecontroller is adapted to determine an alternate route of travel foroutput to the wireless mobile unit.